Three transfers Middlesbrough should pursue after banking huge Rav van den Berg profit

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Middlesbrough are set to land a huge profit on one of their star players.

Rav van den Berg is set to join Koln in Germany for a reported fee of £11.2m – a huge profit on the £250,000 fee they paid for him.

Van den Berg is a key player at the Riverside Stadium and the Dutch defender will be difficult to replace.

There are also other areas of the pitch that need strengthening and with a fair bit of money in the bank, Rob Edwards can look at all areas of the squad to improve.

With that, here are three signings that Middlesbrough can make from this deal.

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Max Arfsten – Columbus Crew

Max Arfsten looks like a deal that was set to happen regardless of the Van den Berg situation.

Boro have already turned Arfsten’s head after a £2.25m bid was rejected and with a left wing-back in demand, it feels like a move which they won’t give up on.

The 22-year-old is highly rated across the pond and could join fellow countryman Aidan Morris on Teesside this summer.

Ruben Colwill – Cardiff City

It’s going to be a battle to keep Hayden Hackney at the Riverside but if they do, it would be a big coup.

Hackney turned down Ipswich Town earlier in the window, but that doesn’t mean to say that he won’t go elsewhere before 1 September deadline.

If he were to leave, Boro would need someone who is capable of coming in straightaway to hit the ground running and that could be Ruben Colwill.

Relegated to League One with Cardiff City last season, Colwill is the same age as Hackney and loves to carry the ball, while also displaying a wide range of passes across the pitch.

Defensively, he is probably more astute and even if Hackney stayed and Colwill joined, they’d make a great pairing.

Milos Pantovic – TSC Backa Topola

Sometimes it’s better to look away from the crowded market and think outside of the box in the transfer window and Milos Pantovic could be a great option.

TSC Backa Topola underperformed in the Serbian Superliga last season and struggled in their European campaigns.

Pantovic, however, did come out of it well and scored 16 goals in all competitions.

Capable of playing anywhere across the attack, he would be a useful striker and if Edwards ever did try and change formation, he would have no problem fitting in.